Justice, or Vengeance?
by Arkham Avenger
Summary: The final battle has begun...the end is near.


The time had come. The end...is near. Arkham, with the help of his Fireteam, had hunted down and slaughtered the animals, the monsters, who each played a part in the death of his mentor, Cayde-6, the Scorn Barons. Only two targets remained: The leader of the Scorn and the first of their ranks: Fikrul, the Fanatic; and the Awoken Prince himself, Uldren Sov, the Forsaken. As the Hunter approached the ancient Watchtower of the Awoken, war raged on. Other Guardians, who had heard RK's call, fought alongside the remaining Awoken forces in the air, as well as the Spider's Fallen on the ground. Explosions and gunfire went off all around, the noise almost deafening to any normal person. But, they weren't normal, they were Guardians, and the battle was their Siren Song. Arkham spun on his heel, facing the small army he had accrued of Guardians and Fallen, looking each in the eyes and optics with his own, their sky blue color glowing brightly as he held his helmet in his arms.

"We have come here for a reason! To avenge Cayde, and stop Uldren from opening a portal to Hell! We are all different, Exos, Awoken, Humans, Fallen, but here, we are united! Here, we will make them pay! They make take our lives, but they can never take OUR FREEDOM!" He roared, trying to inspire the crowd, as they roared back in approval.  
"You stole that from Braveheart." Orion, an Awoken Warlock, replied with a smirk.

"Not the point, but good job for getting that reference. Anyway, It's time that we FIGHT BACK! SEND THOSE SCORN BASTARDS BACK TO THE DIRT, WHERE THEY BELONG! FOR CAYDE!" He turned around, drawing his Trinity Ghoul, and opened fire. The other Guardians followed suit, charging the Scorn, and tearing them to shreds.

They cleared a path for Fireteam Spades, holding the nearly endless onslaught of Scorn at bay. The trio made it to the entrance pavilion, a spacious courtyard of marble and greenery. Tall pillars stretched towards the sky, reaching for the stars, and vines wrapped themselves around the pillars, and snaked across the ground. A truly magnificent sight, despite being partially overtaken by the local vegetation, though everything seemed...off. The very air stunk of death and rot, a darkness looming over the entire structure, leaving those who would dare intrude upon its grounds with an unending sense of unease.

"We should be prepared for anything….this area reeks of corruption, I can feel it." Orion warned, cautiously taking a few steps towards the grand doors of the Watchtower.  
"We don't have to worry about anything-" Dante remarked, but was cut off as the ground shook. A low voice growled, coming from all directions as the team were suddenly cut off from their reinforcements, a Dark Ether barrier materializing under the stone archway to the outside world.  
"Are you proud of what you've done, machine?! Sending my brothers and sisters into the dirt, where _you belong?!_ " A lightning bolt struck the ground in front of the door, and as the blinding light faded, in its place was The Fanatic, holding his spear tightly. His face hidden by his metal helmet, but Arkham could feel his glare through the mask.  
"You slaughtered my kin, Deathless Ones! Araskes, Hiraks, Reksis Vahn, Kaniks, Yaviks, Pirrha, and Elykris!" His raspy voice clicking as he spoke, his Eliksni accent peering through. Arkham took a deep breath, and took several steps towards the terrace upon which Fikrul stood.

"You brought this on yourselves! Killing and corrupting Eliksni! Unleashing every convict from the Prison of Elders! KILLING CAYDE!" He thrusted his arm forward, pointing at the giant Scorn accusingly.  
"You were already dead. If anything, I'm restoring you to your proper place."  
"WE ARE TRUE ELIKSNI! We are EVOLVED! PURE! You would deny the truth! Father shall soon claim his right as King, and he shall rule all!" He laughed maniacally.

"Uldren Sov gave up his right to the throne when he slaughtered the Awoken people. He is a Prince of nothing but ash." He taunted, and The Fanatic ceased instantly, aiming his spear at the Hunter.  
"You are too late, Deathless One! Father shall succeed, and I shall avenge my kin!" He slammed the base of his spear into the terrace, summoning more Scorn to his side.

"You HAD to open your mouth!" Dante snapped, as the trio drew their weapons, readying themselves to fight.

They fought bravely, taking out Scorn after Scorn, slowly damaging The Fanatic little by little, whether by an arrow, bullet, missile, or grenade. Arkham eliminated three Scorn with a single shot of his _Trinity Ghoul_ , Dante firing his modified Auto Rifle, the _Cerberus+1_ , and Orion slew many with his _Quickfang_ , slicing one in two with a single slice of his blade.

"ENOUGH OF THIS!" Fikrul slammed his spear once more, and lifted the Guardians off the ground, throwing them threw the doors inside, and stomped towards them. He aimed his spear at them, and charged a lightning blast powerful enough to incinerate them. As he unleashed his fury, however, Dante summoned his Void Shield, defending his team….his friends.

"HURRY UP AND SHOOT HIM, I CAN'T HOLD THIS FOREVER!"

The 2 nodded, and Orion blasted back with his Chaos Reach, Arkham firing with a Blade Barrage. After a moment, Fikrul stopped, his arms going limp, falling to the floor, dead. His final words echoing through the small room,

"The Scorn...shall last...forever…." Arkham shivered, and waved for them to continue further inside.

As they ventured deeper into the Watchtower, the three were awestruck, amazed by the wondrous, seemingly impossible architecture.

"This is...beautiful! Some of these stones shouldn't even exist!" Orion exclaimed excitedly.  
"You'll see soon, Guardians. Keep going, I'll catch up as soon as I find a spot to land." Petra said plainly over the comms.

"Alright, We'll try not to kill everything TOO fast~" Arkham joked as they continued.

Dante marched alongside the others, staying a few steps behind them, in case there was an attack from behind that he would defend against. While he would be the last to admit it, if at all, he was just as impressed with the architecture of the Watchtower. Simple, yet complex. Quaint, yet elegant. Seemingly compact, and yet, even more spacious than anticipated. Though, he was far less enthused than Orion, who stopped every five minutes to gawk at some trinket or other along the walls, or an abstract painting, much to his annoyance. If he could, he would probably punch Orion through the wall. However, they weren't in the Crucible. They were in the Tangled Shore….or supposedly. Something made him feel like they weren't in the same place they started...like they had crossed over some imaginary, invisible line, and had entered another reality entirely. Suddenly, Arkham froze ahead of them, causing the group to come to a halt.  
"What is it, now?!" Dante whisper-yelled from the back, clearly frustrated.

"Taken. Lots of em." The Hunter replied softly, not moving an inch. Dante understood instantly, working his way past Orion to get a better look of the situation.

Ahead of them was a vast atrium, with a tall ceiling, its length long and dark, the few lanterns within it sparsely lit, giving the Taken an advantage, due to their inky black complexion. Dante summoned a Hammer of Sol, prepared to light the way for the others.

"You ready?" He looked at his companions, who likewise prepared their weapons, nodding in approval. With that, he flung the first hammer into the center of the room, and continued to chuck the hammers in every direction, Orion summoning bolts of lightning upon the Taken, and RK firing his Nightstalker Bow at the rest, the arrows piercing every target, the room cleared within minutes.

"HA! What were so afraid of, Arkham? We dispatched them so easily, I didn't even break a sweat!" As soon as he spoke, a Taken rift ripped open the fabric of reality right behind him, and a Taken Phalanx exited from within, growling as its body twitched unnaturally.

"Such tears in reality are exactly why they are so feared, Dante...For example, the beast behind you." Orion commented plainly, looking the monster in the eye.

"You might want to move." The Warlock's eyes glowed with Arc energy, electricity sparking between his fingertips. Dante ran out of the way as Orion unleashed Chaos Reach, blasting the Phalanx into oblivion, and slamming the rift shut behind it. Dante took a shaky breath, and thanked Orion, taking a few moments to unwind, and regain his composure. After their brief respite, they continued onward, heading up yet another flight of stairs, in this endlessly tall Watchtower.

Orion remained in the middle of their would-be formation, observing every miniscule detail within the Watchtower. He was fascinated beyond measure with the Awoken of this world, after his were made all but extinct. It had been several months since he had escaped, and freed, his home universe's Earth, and he had made this reality his permanent home. He knew little of the Awoken of his world, despite being one himself, and had been studying them closely since his arrival. Every new area of the structure answered several questions, but adding twice as many. His robes billowed with every step, as he re-adjusted his Braytech Gauntlets, a gift from the Hunter Ana Bray, after he and the others assisted her within the Hellas Basin of Mars. They continued forward, and encountered a strange, Takenlike rift. However, instead of Taken pouring out, it just...remained there. A portal to the Ascendant Realm, a favorite travel method of the Taken and Awoken, alike. It explained some of the unique designs, at least. He approached it cautiously, surveying the gateway with strenuous care.

"How intriguing...The Awoken seemed to have, at least partially, harnessed the power of the Taken, to create controlled rifts. Similar to Osiris, and Vex technology…" He gently prodded the filmy barrier between realities, the touch reverberating across the entire surface.  
"Yes, we're all very fascinated, can we get through it or not?" Dante asked impatiently, Orion glaring in response, then huffing.  
"We should be able to cross through the dimensional barrier, yes. However, I am unsure of any adverse effects it might have to our physiology, due to the excessive amounts of neutrino-scattering that would occur upon our corporeal forms." He turned back towards the rift, studying it quizzically.

"...Did ANYONE understand what the hell he just said?" Dante asked, confused.

"He's saying he doesn't know if there would be any side effects, but, long answer short, 'probably, but we won't know until we try'." Arkham replied, Dante understanding...somewhat, judging by the look on his face. He nodded in agreement, and took a slow, deep breath. Then, he stepped through the rift, unsure of what lied beyond its borders.

Fireteam Spades entered the rift, and arrived in the Ascendant Realm. It was a place of pure darkness, and endless void trapped in the eye of an eternal storm. Debris was scattered and strewn across the horizon, the tiniest of lights dotting the sky...or whatever was in its place. An eerie silence surrounded them, spare the whisperings of the wind, the creaking of the stone beneath their feet, and faint hissing. They continued onward, relying on their supernatural abilities to traverse the landscape, navigating between the spinning rocks with relative ease, arriving at the tall, twin stairway of what was once a large, outdoor courtyard, perhaps formerly a grand terrace, from which the Awoken people could view the land they lived...but that was long ago. The tall marble-like pillars were shattered in multiple spots, and yet remain near the place they originated, floating in relative proximity , like a puzzle that refused to be solved, The pillars created a large oval, the tops all linked with a single, somehow intact ring of the same stone. As the ascended the stairs, they saw that there was a second set of stairs, curving around the edge of the pavilion, leading to an elevated platform, the remnants of a bridge at its end. They reached the final steps of the first staircase, looking around. Near the broken bridge, they could see a bright light, and from it, they could overhear voices...the voices of Uldren Sov, and his long-dead sister, Queen Mara Sov.

" _Free me, oh brother mine~ You are SO CLOSE~~"_

"I...can't….please…"

" _OBEY ME, FREE ME~~"_

"No…..!" Gunshots were heard from that direction, the familiar sound of the Ace of Spades. The trio of Guardians rushed up the stairs, and jumped off the bridge, barely making it to the source of the light: another gateway, one that lead back to the Watchtower. Without a moment of hesitation, they jumped through, ready for the fight ahead.

Arkham was the first to pass through, landing on the ground, and instantly jumping back to his feet. He drew his handcannon, the _Crimson_ , and began to move forward, slowly, keeping on eye on his built-in Motion Tracker, as the others arrived close behind, mimicking his movements. They could hear the two Awoken arguing from above, their voices echoing through the halls.  
"Please….stop….!"  
" _You have come SO FAR, brother mine, why do you relent now?! Have you gone soft?!"_

"This...isn't right….something's...wrong…."  
" _Keep going, Uldren! Your devotion has brought you this far, there is no turning back! FREE ME!"  
_ "...Yes….Must...keep going…"  
As the Guardians ascended, Petra tried to speak over the comms, but it was filled with static, until the comms failed entirely.

"Guardians, you are...pproaching the peak of the Wa...tower! Be..areful! I'm on m….ay up, now! Wait, I'm losing...signal, comms….jammed!-"  
As soon as the comm systems failed, they had reached the highest floor of the Watchtower, the grand, elaborately detailed double doors closed, and locked shut. Through the glass windows, they could peer inside, as Uldren stood at a circular platform at the other end of the room, a large circular panel built into the wall in front of him.

"He looks ill...what has happened to him?" Orion asked, curious. Uldren's skin had turned a pale blue, inky black ooze covering his skin. His eyes were completely black, unlike their natural orange hue. In his hands, was a small shard of the Traveler, the single source of light in the room.  
"Shh! We need to hear this.." Arkham hurriedly replied, studying Uldren, clenching his fist tightly. While he stood alone, Mara's voice could be heard. Faint, but comprehensible.

" _You've no idea how fortunate you are to be my Chosen...you hold the flesh of a GOD in your hands! You are mere STEPS away from our SALVATION!"_

Uldren nodded softly, his body squivering.  
" _Only light and dark TOGETHER can unlock my way back into your world!"_  
Uldren began to creep forward, raising the shard towards the device as the spector continued.

" _That's it...keep going! FREE ME!"_

As he released the shard from his grasp, it began to levitate towards the center of the device, the corruption leaving his body and merging with it, the light burning brighter and brighter as the ancient machinery began to activate. There was a blinding flash of light, and as it faded, in its place was a series of rings within the device, revealed to be a portal, and a beast began to leak through, a giant monster, composed of machine and flesh, with translucent tentacles tearing it's way into our world. Uldren fell to his knees before the creature, looking up in awe.

"Mara!"

" _Uldren…"_ He outstretched an arm towards it, slowly staggering to his feet, reaching for the beast, as if under a trance…

" _You brave, devoted, pathetic fool….thank you.~~"_ The tendrils wrapped themselves around him, as the Guardians noticed all signs of corruption had left his body as it lifted Uldren in the air. He suddenly screamed in terror as the trio forced the door open. Uldren reached for the Ace, but it was smacked out of his hand, clattering to the floor as the doors gave way, showing Arkham, Orion, and Dante, the grisly sight of Uldren screaming and pleading for help...as he was entirely consumed.

"Shit…" Arkham stood there, stunned for a few moments, aghast at the sight.

The three Guardians gazed upon the beast, the Voice of Riven, either in amazement, confusion, or anger.

"What the Hell is THAT thing?!" Dante exclaimed, pulling out his _Cerberus+1_ , aiming the sights at the creature.

"THAT, Dante, is the Voice of Riven! A horrid hell-beast from the Ascendant Plane!" Orion replied, lightning sparking between his fingers, readying himself for combat.

"Whatever it is, we're killing it. Uldren might still be alive in there, and if he isn't, I'm killing it in his place!" Arkham drew back the bowstring of his _Trinity Ghoul_ , and fired the triage of arrows into it, starting the fight.

The Voice roared in anger, unleashing the Taken forces upon them in swarms, waves upon waves of enemies pouring out in droves to defend it. They fought back valiantly, slowly weakening the beast, ripping more and more tears in existence as it tried to defend itself. However, despite it's many attempts, they were ultimately futile, as, with enough effort, the brave Guardians felled the beast. It roared in pain one last time, and it exploded, fading from reality, along with any trace of it...leaving only Uldren Sov, beaten, battered, and broken, lying upon the cold stone floor. Arkham slowly picked up the Ace of Spades, studying it, then slowly walking to Uldren, who rolled onto his back, looking up at the trio, and laughed as they all aimed their weapons at him.  
"Congratulations...you have my... _undivided_ attention...Now where's my sister?!" He spat at Arkham, when Orion shot Uldren through the knee with an arrow, causing him to scream in pain for a moment, silencing himself as he breathed heavily through gritted teeth.  
"She's not _here_ , Uldren!" Petra growled at him, aiming her weapon at him as well. Arkham nodded, Orion and Dante, hesitantly, left the room.  
"And if she _was_ , this would be whole lot _easier_." She stood beside the Hunter, holding her gun with 2 hands, the barrel aimed squarely at his chest.  
"So….this is to be a reckoning?" He sneered at the duo, bitterness and pain in his eyes.  
Ghost appeared, pleading to Arkham, trying to convince him to turn away.  
"Don't! Look t him, he's finished! We can't just-"

"You have NO IDEA what he's done!" Petra yelled  
"If Cayde were still here, I know what he would've done!" She turned to him "Do you?"  
They both turn back to Uldren  
"Yes, what would the Notorious Cayde-6 do? You have his gun...Seems you get the last word…." He looked down solemnly, before turning aggressive again  
"Everything _I_ did, _I_ did for _her_!" He looked into Arkham's deep blue optics, and chuckled  
"Funny...the line between Light and Dark is so, _very thin…._ Do you know which side _you're_ on?" He asked, causing the Hunter to pause, lowering the Ace for the briefest of moments...and he raised his arm again, nodding in reply. Uldren closed his eyes, embracing the end, as they pulled their triggers.

BANG


End file.
